Local access to a mobile network

ABSTRACT

Methods and apparatuses for billing a user associated with a mobile service for a VoIP call made by the user using a wireless local area network are disclosed The VOIP call can be received by a local area network. At least a portion of the VoIP call is decoded to obtain session information related to the VoIP call including information identifying the user. The VoIP call is coupled to a public data network. At least a portion of the session information is sent to a provider of the mobile service, to bill the user, and not an owner of the wireless local area network, for the VoIP call. A credit is initiated to an account associated with said owner of the wireless local area network to prevent the owner from incurring charges associated with the VoIP call.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present Application for Patent is a Continuation of patentapplication Ser. No. 11/333,533 entitled “LOCAL ACCESS TO A MOBILENETWORK” filed Jan. 18, 2006, pending, assigned to the assignee hereofand hereby expressly incorporated herein by reference in its entiretyand which claims the benefit of Provisional Patent Application No.60/644,571, filed Jan. 19, 2005, and incorporated herein by reference inits entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to telecommunications processing ingeneral, and more particularly to the local access of a mobiletelecommunication network.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Mobile communications networks enable users to communicate whiletraveling. A typical mobile network includes one or more user cellulartelephones, referred to as Mobile Stations (MS), communicating with aradio transceiver, or Base Transceiver Station (BTSC), that is connectedto the core network via a Base Station Controller (BSC). The BTSC isusually connected to the BSC via a dedicated communication line, such asa T1 TDM telephone line or microwave link. The BSC in turn is connectedto the cellular carrier network.

Unfortunately, the over-the-air bandwidth is limited and may eventuallyreach saturation. For example, when a large number of users are in thesame vicinity their combined traffic may saturate the over-the-airbandwidth, since they all share a limited portion of the radio spectrumfor transmission to the BTSC. One current methodology for alleviatingthe problem is to increase the efficacy of the radio base stations, suchas by increasing the number of BTSCs or enhancing their capacities.However, radio spectrum remains an extremely valuable resource, andinstallation and setup of BTSCs are quite expensive.

Attempts to solve this problem by using radio frequencies not designatedfor use by cellular telephone networks, such as those employed by theBluetooth™ or 802.11 standards, require that cellular telephone handsetsbe adapted to support using these frequencies. A system that utilizesexisting cellular telephone handset technologies while increasingcommunications coverage for cellular network customers would thereforebe advantageous.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one aspect of the present invention a method is provided for billinga subscriber to a cellular telephone service for a VoIP call made by thesubscriber, the method including determining when a subscriber to acellular telephone service places a telephone call to a remote deviceusing a local device associated with the subscription, where thetelephone call has at least one VoIP call leg, capturing sessioninformation related to the telephone call, including informationidentifying the subscriber, and providing the information to a providerof the cellular telephone service, thereby enabling the cellulartelephone service provider to bill the subscriber for the VoIP call.

In another aspect of the present invention the determining step includesdetermining where a first leg of the call is carried by non-cellulartelephone infrastructure.

In another aspect of the present invention the method further includescalculating a billing cost incurred by the local device for the call.

In another aspect of the present invention the method further includesdebiting a billing record of the subscriber for the billing cost.

In another aspect of the present invention the method further includescrediting an owner of a local network through which call is placed forthe billing cost.

In another aspect of the present invention the crediting step includescrediting the owner by crediting an account belonging to the owner at anISP of the owner.

In another aspect of the present invention a method is provided forbilling a subscriber to a cellular telephone service for a VoIP callmade by the subscriber, the method including determining when asubscriber to a cellular telephone service places a telephone call to aremote device using a local device associated with the subscription,where the telephone call has at least one VoIP call leg, capturingsession information related to the telephone call, including informationidentifying the subscriber, calculating a billing cost incurred by thelocal device for the call, and providing the information and the billingcost to a provider of the cellular telephone service, thereby enablingthe cellular telephone service provider to bill the subscriber for theVoIP call.

In another aspect of the present invention a system is provided forbilling a subscriber to a cellular telephone service for a VoIP callmade by the subscriber, the system including a local device configuredto place a call to a remote device, and a gateway configured todetermine when a subscriber to a cellular telephone service places atelephone call to the remote device using the local device associatedwith the subscription, where the telephone call has at least one VoIPcall leg, capture session information related to the telephone call,including information identifying the subscriber, and provide theinformation to a provider of the cellular telephone service for billingthe subscriber for the VOIP call.

In another aspect of the present invention the local device isconfigured to place the call at least partially via the non-cellulartelephone infrastructure.

In another aspect of the present invention the system further includes abilling logic module configured to calculate a billing cost incurred bythe local device for the call.

In another aspect of the present invention the billing logic module isconfigured to debit a billing record of the subscriber for the billingcost.

In another aspect of the present invention the billing logic module isconfigured to credit an owner of a local network through which call isplaced for the billing cost.

In another aspect of the present invention the billing logic module isconfigured to credit the owner by crediting an account belonging to theowner at an ISP of the owner.

In another aspect of the present invention a system is provided forbilling a subscriber to a cellular telephone service for a VoIP callmade by the subscriber, the system including a local device configuredto place a call to a remote device, and a gateway configured todetermine when a subscriber to a cellular telephone service places atelephone call to the remote device using the local device associatedwith the subscription, where the telephone call has at least one VoIPcall leg, capture session information related to the telephone call,including information identifying the subscriber, calculate a billingcost incurred by the local device for the call, and provide theinformation and the billing cost to a provider of the cellular telephoneservice for billing the subscriber for the VoIP call.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will be understood and appreciated more fully fromthe following detailed description taken in conjunction with theappended drawings in which:

FIG. 1A is a simplified pictorial illustration of a system for localaccess to a mobile network, constructed and operative in accordance witha preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 1B is a simplified flowchart illustration of a method for mobilenetwork communications, operative in accordance with a preferredembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 1C is a simplified flowchart illustration of a method for localaccess to a mobile network, operative in accordance with a preferredembodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 2 is a simplified flowchart illustration of an example method forbilling mobile telephone users for communications via a local network,operative in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Reference is now made to FIG. 1A, which is a simplified pictorialillustration of a system for local access to a mobile network,constructed and operative in accordance with a preferred embodiment ofthe present invention, and to FIG. 1B, which is a simplified flowchartillustration of a method for mobile network communications, operative inaccordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. In atraditional cellular telephone communications network, such as a GSMnetwork, the location of a local device 100, such as a cellulartelephone of a cellular telephone service subscriber, is registered in ahome location register (HLR) 140 of the subscriber's network. Theregistration of local device 100 in the GSM network typically traversesthe following path: from the local device 100 over a mobile radionetwork 120 to a Base Transceiver Station (BTSC) 125, from there to aBase Station Controller (BSC) 130, and then to a Mobile Switching Center(MSC) 135. The MSC 135 registers local device 100 in HLR 140. Should auser of a remote device 110, such as a cellular telephone of a roamingcellular telephone service subscriber or a cellular telephone servicesubscriber of a different cellular telephone service, dial local device100's access number, such as local device 100's telephone number, MSC135 is able to determine local device 100's location based oninformation available in HLR 140. Thus, when remote device 110 attemptsto initiate a communication channel with local device 100, remote device110 contacts MSC 135, which queries HLR 140 for the location of localdevice 100 and establishes a communication channel that traverses BSC130 and BTSC 125 over mobile radio network 120 to local device 100.

Local device 100 is preferably configured to communicate with a picocell 170 in a local network 160 setting, such as in a local area networkenvironment. Pico cell 170 preferably takes the place of BTSC 125 withinlocal network 160 and is preferably configured to communicate with localdevice 100, such as via WiFi™, Bluetooth™, or GSM radio signal. Picocell 170 preferably communicates with a local gateway 180 that isconnected to a data network 185, such as the Internet. Local gateway 180typically communicates utilizing voice over IP (VoIP) protocols, such asSIP and RTP, with a remote gateway 190. For example, local gateway 180may create a SIP session with remote gateway, notifying remote gateway190 of local device 100's current location. Remote gateway 190 may thenregister local device 100 in HLR 140, such as by communicating overPARLAY or SS7 connections. Remote gateway 190 may further identifyitself as a Visiting Location Register (VLR) to HLR 140 as describedhereinbelow with reference to FIG. 2. At the termination of the SIPsession, remote gateway 190 may de-register local device 100 from HLR140.

Reference is now made to FIG. 1C, which is a simplified flowchartillustration of a method for local access to a mobile network, operativein accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. Inthe method of FIG. 1C, should a user employ local device 100 to create acommunication channel from within local network 160 to remote device110, such as a voice phone call, local gateway 180 preferably constructsa SIP session with remote gateway 190, which may then redirect voicetraffic through a VoIP gateway 195. In this manner, the user may speakfrom within local network 160 to a user of remote device 110 that ispart of a telephony network, such as a PSTN network, where the call hasa VoIP component, or “leg,” and where the first leg of the call may becarried by non-cellular telephone infrastructure, such as a home orbusiness WiFi™ local area network. The voice traffic takes the path fromlocal device 100 over local network 160, via pico cell 170, localgateway 180, over data network 185 through VoIP gateway 195, andterminating at remote device 110, with the optional help of remotegateway 190.

Reference is now made to FIG. 2, which is a simplified flowchartillustration of a method for billing mobile telephone users forcommunications via a local network, operative in accordance with apreferred embodiment of the present invention. In the method of FIG. 2,a local network 160 may have an associated billing address, such aswhere Internet access from a home network may be billed to the residentof the home. Communication from local network 160 over data network 185may incur charges that are then billed to the preferred billing address.For example, an Internet Service Provider (ISP) may charge the owner oflocal network 160 for each RTP packet transmitted over data network 185,such as to provide an enhanced quality of service for RTP packets basedon the charge per packet. In this scenario, when a visitor's localdevice 100, that is not owned or operated by the owner of local network160, is connected to data network 185 via local network 160, such as forplacing a VoIP call as described above, the billing charges for thevisitor's usage of data network 185 will be sent to the owner of localnetwork 160. To avoid this problem, the present invention includes abilling logic module, preferably located within remote gateway 190,described hereinbelow.

When visiting local device 100 utilizes local network 160 to communicateover data network 185, pico cell 170 preferably retrieves the visitinglocal device 100's information, such as its SIM card ID identifying thesubscriber, as well as the device ID, and provides the information inthe data transmitted to local gateway 180. Local gateway 180 preferablyencodes this information into its outbound data streams. For example,local gateway 180 may embed the information into the SIP ‘from’ headerfield or in the RTP packets, within a fixed byte sized. VoIP gateway 195preferably decodes the visiting local device 100's information andpreferably notifies remote gateway 190 of the packets communicated bythe visiting local device 100 over data network 185 utilizing localnetwork 160. Alternatively or in conjunction with local gateway 180,remote gateway 190 may monitor local device 100's communications andcapture related session information, such as that found in the SIPchannel and embedded in the ‘from’ header field, and determine thevisiting local device's utilization of data network 185 via localnetwork 160. Such session information may include information relatingto the subscriber, the route a call took, the equipment traversed alongthe way, when the call was made, the duration of the call, the call'sdestination, the type of media carried by the call, the cell phonecharacteristics of the caller and/or the called party, and any otherknown types of call information. The billing logic module located withinremote gateway 190 preferably calculates a billing cost incurred by thevisiting local device 100 and debits the visiting local device 100'sbilling record which may be maintained by remote gateway 190 or by thecellular telephone service provider to whom local device 100'ssubscriber belongs. The billing logic module may also credit the ownerof local network 160 with the same amount charged to visiting localdevice 100. Alternatively, the billing logic module located withinremote gateway 190 provides local device 100's call session informationto the cellular telephone service provider to whom local device 100'ssubscriber belongs, who then calculates related billing charges andbills the subscriber.

Remote gateway 190 may affect a cellular telephone service subscriber'sbilling record in the same manner as a traditional VLR affects a billingrecord in HLR 140, charging network usage to the user of the visitinglocal device 100.

In addition, remote gateway 190 may retain a connection with datanetwork 185's ISP, and credit the owner of local network 160 directly atthe ISP. Alternatively, remote gateway 190 may keep its own billingrecords, and credit the owner of local network 160 directly.

It is appreciated that one or more of the steps of any of the methodsdescribed herein may be omitted or carried out in a different order thanthat shown, without departing from the true spirit and scope of theinvention.

While the methods and apparatus disclosed herein may or may not havebeen described with reference to specific computer hardware or software,it is appreciated that the methods and apparatus described herein may bereadily implemented in computer hardware or software using conventionaltechniques.

While the present invention has been described with reference to one ormore specific embodiments, the description is intended to beillustrative of the invention as a whole and is not to be construed aslimiting the invention to the embodiments shown. It is appreciated thatvarious modifications may occur to those skilled in the art that, whilenot specifically shown herein, are nevertheless within the true spiritand scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for billing a user associated with amobile service for a VoIP call made by the user using a wireless localarea network, the method comprising: receiving said VoIP call by a localarea network; decoding at least a portion of said VoIP call to obtainsession information related to said VoIP call, said session informationincluding information identifying said user; coupling said VoIP call toa public data network; sending at least a portion of said sessioninformation to a provider of said mobile service, thereby enabling saidmobile service provider to bill said user, and not an owner of saidwireless local area network, for said VoIP call, wherein said user is adifferent entity than said owner; and initiating a credit to an accountassociated with said owner of said wireless local area network therebypreventing said owner from incurring charges associated with said VoIPcall.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: calculating userbilling cost incurred by said owner of said wireless local area networkfor said VoIP call.
 3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:debiting a billing record of said user for said user billing cost. 4.The method of claim 1, further comprising: redirecting said VoIP call toa remote device via a VoIP gateway.
 5. The method of claim 1, whereininitiating the credit to said account associated with said ownercomprises: crediting said owner by crediting an account belonging tosaid owner at an ISP of said owner.
 6. An apparatus for billing a userassociated with a mobile service for a VoIP call made by the user usinga wireless local area network, the apparatus comprising: means forreceiving said VoIP call by a local area network; means for decoding atleast a portion of said VoIP call to obtain session information relatedto said VoIP call, said session information including .informationidentifying said user; means for coupling said VoIP call to a publicdata network; means for sending at least a portion of said sessioninformation to a provider of said mobile service, thereby enabling saidmobile service provider to bill said user, and not an owner of saidwireless local area network, for said VoIP call, wherein said user is adifferent entity than said owner; and means for initiating a credit toan account associated with said owner of said wireless local areanetwork thereby preventing said owner from incurring charges associatedwith said VoIP
 7. The apparatus of claim 6, further comprising: meansfor calculating user billing cost incurred by said owner of saidwireless local area network for said VoIP call.
 8. The apparatus ofclaim 7, further comprising: means for debiting a billing record of saiduser for said user billing cost.
 9. The apparatus of claim 6, furthercomprising: means for redirecting said VoIP call to a remote device viaa VoIP gateway.
 10. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein initiating thecredit to said account associated with said owner comprises: means forcrediting said owner by crediting an account belonging to said owner atan ISP of said owner.
 11. A non-transitory computer readable storagemedium, encoded with processor readable instructions to perform a methodfor billing a subscriber to a cellular telephone service for a VOIP callmade by the subscriber, the method comprising: receiving said VOIP callby a local area network; decoding at least a portion of said VoIP callto obtain session information related to said VoIP call, said sessioninformation including information identifying said user; coupling saidVOIP call to a public data network; sending at least a portion of saidsession information to a provider of said mobile service, therebyenabling said mobile service provider to bill said user, and not anowner of said wireless local area network, for said VoIP call, whereinsaid user is a different entity than said owner; and initiating a creditto an account associated with said owner of said wireless local areanetwork thereby preventing said owner from incurring charges associatedwith said VoIP call.
 12. The non-transitory computer readable storagemedium of claim 11, further encoded with processor readable instructionscomprising: calculating user billing cost incurred by said owner of saidwireless local area network for said VoIP call.
 13. The non-transitorycomputer readable storage medium of claim 12, further encoded withprocessor readable instructions comprising: debiting a billing record ofsaid user for said user billing cost.
 14. The non-transitory computerreadable storage medium of claim 11, further encoded with processorreadable instructions comprising: redirecting said VoIP call to a remotedevice via a VoIP gateway.
 15. The non-transitory computer readablestorage medium of claim 11, further encoded with processor readableinstructions comprising: crediting said owner by crediting an accountbelonging to said owner at an ISP of said owner.
 16. An apparatusconfigured to bill a user associated with a mobile service for a VoIPcall made by the user using a wireless local area network, the apparatuscomprising: logic module configured to receive said VoIP call by a localarea network; logic module configured to decode at least a portion ofsaid VoIP call to obtain session information related to said VoIP call,said session information including information identifying said user;logic module configured to couple said VoIP call to a public datanetwork; logic module configured to send at least a portion of saidsession information to a provider of said mobile service, therebyenabling said mobile service provider to bill said user, and not anowner of said wireless local area network, for said VoIP call, whereinsaid user is a different entity than said owner; and logic moduleconfigured to initiate a credit to an account associated with said ownerof said wireless local area network thereby preventing said owner fromincurring charges associated with said VoIP call.
 17. The apparatus ofclaim 16, further comprising: logic module configured to calculate userbilling cost incurred by said owner of said wireless local area networkfor said VoIP call.
 18. The apparatus of claim 17, further comprising:logic module configured to debit a billing record of said user for saiduser billing cost.
 19. The apparatus of claim 16, further comprising:logic module configured to redirect said VoIP call to a remote devicevia a VoIP gateway.
 20. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the logicmodule configured to initiate the credit to said account associated withsaid owner comprises: logic module configured to credit said owner bycrediting an account belonging to said owner at an ISP of said owner.